For most of us there comes a time (or many times) when we are just overwhelmed by all the things to do, choices/decisions to make the possibilities or the consequences. It happens to everyone at one time or another. Often our response is to curl up and hide.
When you do that, you take yourself out of the game and fall into what I call a state of Drift.
When a boat is drifting on the water, it does so because its engines are not running or there is no wind pushing it’s sails. The boat goes wherever the tide takes it. Do you know many people like that? I sure do! And at times I have been one of them.
Usually you realize you are drifting and that creates a serious tension in you that must be relieved. You relieve it by getting in motion. Direction at this point DOES NOT MATTER.
Everyone get that? At this point direction does not matter.
Have you ever tried to turn a car while parked? Can’t do it can you? It is far easier to change course when moving because you use the energy released from being in motion to direct your motion!
Say what, Fric?
OK. OK. Look at it this way. If you are starting to take some actions to change your life and you realize that you aren’t heading in the right direction, do you stop all activity and then change direction? Does everything come to a halt while you try to determine the proper course of action?
Of course not. You simply stop doing what is not working or is working poorly. That frees up time and energy. This newfound reserve can now be used to figure out the right direction without affecting the positive things in your life. When you get the new direction, that time and energy is now directed there.
Keep taking action. If you stop, you immediately start to Drift again. Action is the only way to avoid Drift. Be warned however, that you got into Drift because you either lost sight of your vision and goals for a while, have a weak vision and/or weak goals or have NO vision or goals.
Eventually you need a vision to know where you are going and goals to know how you will get there. If you don’t, getting out of Drift by taking some kind action eventually has you going in a circle over and over. And that is just as bad as Drift because you will think you are making progress at first. Then you might become disillusioned and fall back into a permanent state of Drift.
And the only thing worse than not knowing you are in Drift is to be in, get out, give up and go back without hope of getting out again.
So, when overwhelmed, ACT! But remember to look around every once in a while to see what is happening and have the guts to change strategies when it’s not working.
